


William's Week

by Chessapeake



Category: Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Genre: Episode 98, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-04
Updated: 2013-04-04
Packaged: 2017-12-07 10:38:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/747575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chessapeake/pseuds/Chessapeake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is my take on the week before Darcy showed up at Lizzie's house instead of Chinese food.</p>
            </blockquote>





	William's Week

William Darcy: brother, friend, CEO… and newsie. The infamous hat he’d worn to a wedding once now rested on the corner of his desk. It had sat there since the day Lizzie Bennet had asked him to first do costume theatre with her. He reached out a hand to touch it briefly, as if somehow a little bit of her could be obtained through the talisman.

It was coming up on two months since she’d left Pemberly Digital to return to her sister. His life changed too. At first it was just the change of seeking out the scum of the earth, a process that took much longer than he would have liked. Since then he felt, for the first time in his life, bored. He had plenty to do of course, but it lacked the ability to move him to action in the same way. Long hours were spent just sitting in his office, sliding a pen between his fingers. Sometimes the pen helped him write in his ever-present journal, sometimes it just gave him something to do while he watched the clock.

Lizzie Bennet. He didn’t think about her, actually. Not anymore than one consciously thought about the breath one took, or the beats of one’s heart. She lived in his mind as a constant presence. The shade of her hair shone through a woman’s scarf, the sound of her laugh floated to him across a park, and her eyes—her eyes shined at him through a necklace of gems in a shop window and they laughed at him.

Now he sat on a Sunday night, in his dark office, playing with a pen. The computer in front of him was already loaded to her YouTube channel. There was nothing more to do that night. He clicked the monitor off but left the tower on. He hated waiting for it to load on Monday morning. After a moment or two, he let himself out of the office and went home to his shower and bed.

The night passed like any other. He didn’t dream, he woke with his alarm, and he dressed. His normal drive to work also served as a lovely stroll and he chose that option instead. The chill against his coat helped to wake him and the people around him gave a sense of actually living, instead of merely going through the motions of life.

Greetings were shared in lobby and an employee’s child had their picture passed around. He made the appropriate comments of congratulations for the tike’s athletic accomplishment of six steps. Just outside his office, Reynolds sat and was already working. As she handed him a printed copy of the agenda he knew was already in his email inbox, they greeted each other. The clock on her smartphone read 8:57.

“Cutting things a bit close today, sir?” Anyone else wouldn’t have been able to read the stoic face he gave her, but she had worked for the Darcy’s for years and knew the little boy trapped inside the mature adult before her was sticking out his tongue. She smiled, “I’ll hold all your calls until nine-thirty as usual, sir.”

He thanked her and made himself a cup of tea from the water she had ready. By the time he sat at his desk and flipped on his monitor, it was a couple of minutes past nine. ‘End of the Line - Ep: 95’ was the title of the new video. End of the line? For the videos? No, no, of course not. She would have been tweeting about it, besides, the description mentioned a surprise. He enlarged the screen, set the display to HD and pressed play.

 _“Hey everyone!”_ Her voice.. her smile… It was good to see her again. She talked about Jane and Bing (he should give Bing a call and see how he was), she made a comment about communicating more (was that… no, she couldn’t be talking to him), and updated everyone on her family. She pulled out her mother’s costume and started in on her impersonation. He’d met Mrs. Bennet and her accent wasn’t quite that thick, but it certainly was entertaining. Leaning back, he took a sip from his tea.

 _“How dare you, Lizzie Bennet!!”_ Darcy shot straight up and almost spewed tea on his keyboard. As it was, he choked and took a couple of minutes to regain his composure. By then Caroline Lee had joined Lizzie in front of the camera. He backed it up to the beginning because he was fairly certain he was hallucinating.

He wasn’t. There she was, his former partner in crime, barging into the Bennet’s house like an invading army. She hadn’t told him she was going back to Netherfield. As the video progressed, so did his frustration at Caroline. She had no right to be there. She had no right to say such things to Lizzie.

 _“I mean, look what you’re doing to Darcy!”_ His eyes and attention narrowed at the mention of his name. They talked about his and Lizzie’s time together when she had been at Pemberly. He hadn’t been imagining it, Lizzie had in fact been flirting with him. Wait- no, she was denying it. She wasn’t?

Then Caroline lied about his aunt and her investments in his company. He had been in contact with her just a couple of nights ago and she’d said nothing of the kind.

Before he was finished processing this, he was hit with yet another two-by-four: they were discussing the now infamous “indiscretion” of Jane’s he’d witnessed at Bing’s birthday. The thought of it immediately brought to mind when he had embarrassed himself by spouting that accusation venomously at Lizzie during her stay at Collins and Collins. They couldn’t stop talking about that topic fast enough as he could see the same rage and disbelief rising in Lizzie. Caroline practically confessed to setting up the whole thing and his jaw clenched as he realized he’d been had. 

It shouldn’t have surprised him. He’d had a serious girlfriend once, towards the end of his undergraduate career. She’d also been friends with Bing and shortly after spending time as a part of “the group”—including Caroline— she mysteriously left him in a flurry of accusations and general confusion. He’d long suspected his friend’s sister had something to do with it.

_“Well let me help you with something. You know who’s in charge of Darcy’s life? Darcy. And you know who’s in charge of mine? Me!”_

This was a lot to take in. Lizzie knew that Caroline was trying to get her to leave him alone. But instead of simply spouting off how much she despised him, and what a soul-less robot he was… she… she more or less told her to shove it and then invited her to dinner. What a woman.

The closing music played and he didn’t stifle the urge to wave his finger as if conducting the little tune. He often felt a surge of admiration after watching a video of Lizzie’s and this was certainly no exception. She hadn’t laughed in Caroline’s face that having feelings for him was impossible. Because it was possible or because it was so out of the question that the idea simply wasn’t something she could even comprehend?

Confusion, thy name is woman.

He claimed his notebook and pen and began to write out his feelings. There were a lot, but the sensation of the ink slowly seeping into the paper and the smooth flow beneath the pen’s tip brought order to the chaos. What it all boiled down to was this: she no longer reviled him. If she did, she would have said so. Also, the decision was made to not interact with Caroline unless absolutely necessary. Obviously, she couldn’t be trusted.

Reynolds interrupted him with a reminder that the world around him was continuing to turn and he had a conference call to finalize details about his Chicago business trip this week. A deep breath and a touch to his hat switched his brain into its proper gear and he swiftly minimized Lizzie’s face to bring up the earnings report update.

Two long days later, he was in Chicago in a hotel room with the jaccuzzi jets on full power and a bottle of a local microbrew. Honestly, how many times was he going to have to insist on his being a CEO at this conference? Surely it wasn’t his fault everyone else here was old enough to be his father and in several cases, grandfather.

His mind drifted to his grandfather and his one remaining memory of him. It was a simple one. Gigi had just been born and he was feeling a bit of sibling jealousy. The old man patted his knee and allowed the small boy to perch on it. “Now William, my boy, this little girl can’t do one thing on her own. She’s going to need your help. We’re all counting on you to take care of her, do you think you’re ready for a job like that?” He couldn’t remember how he had answered all those years ago. But it must have been some form of yes, because he loved his little sister and would move heaven and earth for her.

Speaking of which, she should be home by now. Her trip to Austin was the first time she had gone somewhere to specifically represent Pemberly and he had made a point to not crowd her. But what brother didn’t call to make sure a young lady made it home safe and sound. His phone was on the bathroom counter. The air nipped at his wet skin as he stood and retrieved his phone. It had been on silent all day and he forgot to switch it back on. Gigi may have already called—

He almost dropped the phone into the swirling water beneath him. Somehow, he scuttled out of the tub and wrapped a towel around himself without taking his eyes off the screen. His bed was underneath him before he trusted the words before him. **‘1 Missed Call and Voicemail: Elizabeth Bennet’**.

How… Why…

He played the message she left. He played it again. He played it on speakerphone. He stopped to put his clothes on and then played it again:

 

_‘Hey! …Darcy… it’s Lizzie! Uh, when you have a sec.. ah.. gimme a call. I’d like to… chat!’_

 

She sounded perky. Perky and a little confused. He had to call her. But as his hand hovered over the ‘Call Back’ button, he realized that he couldn’t. He couldn’t handle this conversation over the phone. Communicating with this bombshell was difficult enough when he could see her face; a conversation like this couldn’t happen over the phone. Why had she called?

She would probably mention it in her video tomorrow. It was after all Wednesday, a day she traditionally did her filming. Yes, tomorrow his questions would be answered. Besides which, he wasn’t heading back home until friday. Nothing could be done. Yet another mystery in his life brought about by Elizabeth Bennet.

The next day, Darcy was failing at his attempt to be discreet while checking his phone. The twitter app was already draining his battery, but he refused to turn it off. He needed the notification right away. Normally he wouldn’t have walked out of the workshop for any reason (it would give the old coots something else to criticize about him), but this was serious business. When he’d woken up that morning he had forgotten about the time change and was eager to watch the video just an hour after he finished his shower, but when the notification didn’t come and he appropriately panicked for ten minutes, he remembered that it would be available at eleven.

Finally, his phone vibrated. ‘New Video - “Talking to Myself” TheLBD‘. Excellent. He excused himself in the most unobtrusive manner possible and made a note of which people gave him dirty looks and which didn’t care. He fit the earbuds in and stood in the hallway to watch the woman he loved. It was called “Talking to Myself”. Although technically, she was talking to a whole host of people on the internet. Technically, she was talking to him.

He soon found that one could also argue she spoke with Jane, Gigi, Charlotte, and even Fitz via her costume theatre. The one costume that remained conspicuously absent, however, was the old tried and true cap and bow tie combo. She was so adorable.

 

_“Talking to the internet… not the same as talking to people…”_

 

And just like that, she was dialing her phone. He mouthed the words as she said them. “Hey! …Darcy… it’s Lizzie! Uh, when you have a sec.. ah.. gimme a call. I’d like to… chat!” Nothing could have prepared him for the face disgust she made at her own use of the word “chat”. Honestly, how could she know what made him fall for her more with each and every video?

That did it. He was going to see Lizzie. Furious thumbs tried unsuccessfully to get him a ticket to his beloved before monday. He urgently sent a text message to Reynolds and returned to the hell from whence he’d come. A short while later, his phone vibrated again.

 

_I can get you there Sunday afternoon._

_That’s the soonest?!_

_Well, sir, I took the liberty of finding out when Ms. Lee_  
intends on leaving, I thought you wouldn’t want to  
accidently run into her. Sunday is the soonest after  
she leaves. 

_I see._

_Thank you._

_Any time, Mr. Darcy_

 

Another two and a half days before he could see her again. Well… what more was there to do besides watch her videos again from the beginning?

As it turned out, he was better at finding things to keep his mind working than he thought. Having a plan had always made him feel more at ease, no matter what the situation. Her contact picture in his phone beckoned to him, but he knew the look on her face when he finally did see her was going to be worth it. To be in the same room as her would be worth it. After all, this may be the very last time he would be with her, as she had stated recently that they weren’t friends. They weren’t.

Dreamless nights passed, security lines were waited in, and bags were unpacked only to be filled right back up. He wasn’t nervous. A car was rented, his things were dropped off at Netherfield and he wasn’t nervous. Finally, he was in front of her house, locking his car door and stepping up to her front porch and he still wasn’t nervous.

He rang her doorbell. 

Ah! There came the nerves.

His left hand shook as he carefully tried to construct the opening of his planned speech. _‘Hello, Lizzie, I apologize for interrupting. Do you have a minute to chat? I’m so glad you called me, but I do have a question for you regarding—’_

Charlotte answered the door.

She was shocked to see him to say the least. “You’re not my Chinese food.”

As quickly as he could, he explained his reason for coming. He begged that he be allowed to see her “bestie”. Instead of slamming the door in his face as he expected, she gave him a comforting smile. “She’s in the den, just down that hallway.”

The hall seemed impossibly long, but he crossed it and turned into a doorway where he finally… finally… saw her. The blood rushed around in his head and momentarily stopped his hearing, but he knew that he had taken a breath that might have sounded like a gasp and with that, all of the prepared speech instantly left his brain. It was all just mush. He was pretty sure that when she looked at him, all she would see was a neanderthal with his mouth hanging open at the very sight of her. But she didn’t look at him.

“Hey! Do you need money for the tip?”

She was rummaging in her purse for money and he needed her to look at him. 

“Excuse me, Lizzie.”

 

fin.


End file.
